The Town of Dartmouth was incorporated in 1873. Dartmouth became a City in 1961. It was independently governed by the Dartmouth Town Council until 1996 when it was amalgamated, along with the Towns of Bedford, City of Halifax and Halifax County, into the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Prior to 1931 the mayor was chosen from amongst the elected councillors by a vote of council. The first directly elected mayor was Walter Mosher.
Mayors 1873–1875 – William S. Symonds 1875–1877 – George J. Troop 1877–1880 – William H. Weeks 1880–1881 – James W. Turner 1881–1883 – John Y. Payzant 1883–1885 – John F. Stairs 1885–1886 – John C.P. Frazee 1886–1887 – Byron A. Weston 1888–1889 – James Simmonds 1889–1891 – Frederick Scarfe 1892–1893 – John C. Oland 1894–1896 – William H. Sterns 1897–1901 – A. C. Johnson 1902–1905 – Frederick Scarfe 1906–1907 – E.F. Williams 1908–1912 – Thomas Notting 1913–1918 – E.F. Williams 1919–1920 – H.O. Simpson 1921–1922 – I.W. Vidito 1922–1924 – Walter Mosher 1925–1927 – Charles A. McLean 1928–1933 – Walter Mosher 1934–1935 – Walter A. Topple 1936–1937 – Walter Mosher 1938–1947 – L.J. Isnor 1948–1949 – A. C. Pettipas 1950–1955 – C.H. Morris 1956–1963 – I.W. Akerley 1964–1967 – Joseph Zatzman 1968–1972 – Roland J. Thornhill 1973–1975 – Eileen Stubbs 1976–1985 – Daniel Brownlow 1985–1992 – John Savage 1992–1996 – Gloria McCluskey
See also List of mayors of the Halifax Regional Municipality List of mayors of Halifax, Nova Scotia for a list of mayors for the City of Halifax, from 1841 to 1996. List of mayors of Bedford, Nova Scotia for a list of mayors for the Town of Bedford, from 1979 to 1996. List of wardens of Halifax County, Nova Scotia for a list of wardens for Halifax County, from 1880 –1996.